Kerner started his career at the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, KPIX, in 1971.
In 1978, he then switched to Universal Television for NBC, taking the position of assistant to the senior VP.
The following year, he changed jobs and became the director of dramatic series development at ABC Entertainment.
His acting debut was in Less than Zero (uncredited) and then George of the Jungle 2 (credited), in which he played an advertising executive in the first and an airline passenger in the second.
His mother was Jeannette Kerner, a stage and screen actress, who died in 2001, at the age of 85.